U.S. patent number 5,940,269 [Application Number 09/166,138] was granted by the patent office on 1999-08-17 for heat sink assembly for an electronic device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to D-Link Corporation. Invention is credited to Ching-Rong Ko, Te-Wei Liu.
United States Patent |
5,940,269 |
Ko , et al. |
August 17, 1999 |
Heat sink assembly for an electronic device
Abstract
A heat sink assembly including a heat sink having a plurality of
equi-distantly spaced cooling fins. The heat sink body has a
depression on one side for receiving a cooling and is fixedly
provided above integrated circuits of the electronic product, with
a layer of thermal conductive plate disposed therebetween. The heat
generated by the integrated circuit elements during operation
process is transferred to the cooling fins via the thermal
conductive plate. Simultaneously, the cooling fan draws in air,
which is discharged, via an air outlet thereof towards the cooling
fins to dissipate the heat of the cooling fins. The cooling fan can
be disposed directly above the heat sink body to enhance heat
dissipation efficiency. A single cooling fan will suffice to
achieve good heat dissipating effects, thus reducing manufacturing
cost.
Inventors: |
Ko; Ching-Rong (Hsinchu,
TW), Liu; Te-Wei (Hsinchu, TW) |
Assignee: |
D-Link Corporation (Hsinchu,
TW)
|
Family
ID: |
21632802 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/166,138 |
Filed: |
October 2, 1998 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
|
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Feb 10, 1998 [TW] |
|
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87201906 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
361/697;
257/E23.099; 165/122; 361/707; 165/185; 257/707; 165/80.3; 257/713;
174/16.3; 361/704; 361/709; 361/699; 361/710; 257/718 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L
23/467 (20130101); H01L 2924/0002 (20130101); H01L
2924/0002 (20130101); H01L 2924/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
23/467 (20060101); H01L 23/34 (20060101); H05K
007/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;361/683,690-697,700-705,720,710,721 ;257/707-721
;165/80.3,121,106.33,122,185,80.2,80.4,104,32,104.33 ;62/3.3
;174/16.3 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Picard; Leo P.
Assistant Examiner: Datskovsky; Michael
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Bacon & Thomas, PLLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A heat sink assembly for installation above the integrated
circuit elements of an electronic device, which assembly
comprises:
a) a heat sink body for installation above the integrated circuit
elements mounted on a circuit board having a pair of through holes
formed in the board, the heat sink body including a plurality of
equidistantly spaced cooling fins, a depression formed within the
fins, a pair of threaded holes formed on opposite sides of the heat
sink body, a pair of securing elements, each securing element
having a first threaded end and a second end, the first threaded
ends of the securing elements being engageable within the threaded
holes of the heat sink body and the second ends for insertion
through the pair of through holes of the circuit board and soldered
to the circuit board;
b) a cooling fan secured within the depression, the fan and the
cooling fins being of a same height, and the fan including an air
outlet for directing cooling air through the fins; and
c) a thermal conductive plate for disposition between the heat sink
body and the integrated circuit elements to conduct heat from the
circuit elements to the cooling fins for dissipation by cooling air
directed through the fins from the outlet of the cooling fan.
2. The heat sink assembly of claim 1 wherein each securing element
is a copper rod.
3. The heat sink element of claim 1 wherein the thermal conductive
plate and the heat sink body are adhered together by a double-sided
adhesive.
4. The heat sink assembly of claim 1 wherein the thermal conductive
plate is thermal conductive silicon.
5. The heat sink assembly of claim 1 wherein the heat sink body
includes an upper side, a cover disposed on the upper side, and the
cover being provided with an opening positioned opposite to the
cooling fan.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a heat sink assembly for an
electronic product, and more particularly to a heat sink device
that can enhance heat dissipation efficiency considerably. Besides,
one cooling fan will be sufficient to achieve good heat dissipating
effects, thus reducing cost.
(b) Description of the Prior Art:
Ordinary electronic products, such as network hubs have to be
equipped with cooling fans or cooling fins to dissipate the high
heat generated by components, such as IC controllers, during the
operation process. In the prior art, the cooling fins are fixedly
mounted above the IC controller, and more than one cooling fan is
mounted on the housing of the network hubs. However, since there is
a certain distance from the mounting position of the cooling fan to
the IC controller, the heat dissipating effect is not very
satisfactory. And if the cooling fan is directly mounted above the
cooling fins, it cannot match the height of the network hubs. If
more than two cooling fans are mounted, the manufacturing cost of
the hubs will be increased and the selling price thereof will then
be raised.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a heat sink
device in an electronic product. According to the present
invention, the heat sink device essentially has a heat sink body.
The heat sink body includes a plurality of equidistantly spaced
cooling fins. The heat sink body has a depression on one side for
receiving a cooling fan. The heat sink body is fixedly provided
above integrated circuits of the electronic product, with a layer
of thermal conductive plate disposed therebetween. The heat
generated by the integrated circuit elements during operation
process is transferred to the cooling fins via the thermal
conductive plate. Simultaneously, the cooling fan draws in air,
which is discharged, via an air outlet thereof towards the cooling
fins to dissipate the heat of the cooling fins. The cooling fan can
be disposed directly above the heat sink body to enhance heat
dissipation efficiency. Besides, as the cooling fan is located
between the cooling fins and at the same height as the cooling
fins, the height of the housing of the electronic product will not
be affected. Furthermore, one cooling fan will be sufficient to
achieve good heat dissipating effects to thereby lower cost.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a heat sink
device in an electronic device, in which there is a layer of
thermal conductive plate between the integrated circuits and the
heat sink body. The thermal conductive plate will not only be used
as a medium for conducting heat, but also be used for balancing
purposes to alleviate distance when the heat sink body is placed
above two integrated circuit elements of varying heights, so that
the heat sink body can be mounted in the electronic product in a
stable manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present
invention will be more clearly understood from the following
detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which,
FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded schematic view of the first
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the structure of the first preferred
embodiment of the present invention in part;
FIG. 3 is an assembled sectional schematic view of the first
preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the second preferred embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to FIG. 1 and 2, the present invention is directed
to a heat sink assembly for electronic products. According to the
first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a heat sink
assembly 10 comprises a heat sink body 1 that is mounted above
integrated circuit (IC) elements of an electronic product. In the
present embodiment, the IC elements are two ASIC controllers 2. The
heat sink body 1 includes a plurality of equidistantly spaced
cooling fins 11. One side of the heat sink body 1 has a depression
12. Additionally, there is provided a cooling fan 3 at the
depression 12. When the cooling fan 3 is placed at the depression
12, it is at the same height as the cooling fins 11. Furthermore,
there is provided a layer of thermal conductive plate 4, which is
thermal conductive silicon. The thermal conductive silicon and the
heat sink body 1 are adhered together by a double-sided adhesive
(not shown), but they are not adhered to the IC controllers 2. The
thermal conductive plate 4 is used as a medium for conducting heat.
At the same time, when the heat sink body 1 is placed above two IC
controllers 2 at different height, the thermal conductive plate 4
can be used for balancing purposes to alleviate the distance
therebetween, so that the heat sink body 1 can be secured in the
electronic product in a stable manner.
With reference to FIG. 2, when it is desired to mount the heat sink
body 1 above the IC controllers 2, the left and right sides of the
heat sink body 1 are respectively provided with a through screw
hole 13, and through holes 51 corresponding to the screw holes 13
are formed on a circuit board 5 soldered to the IC controllers 2.
In addition, there is provided a securing element 6, which is a
copper rod. One end of the copper rod is formed with threads 61 for
locking within the screw hole 13 of the heat sink body 1, with the
other end inserted into the through hole 51 of the circuit board 5.
The heat sink body 1 is then secured above the IC controllers by
using tin soldering.
Referring to FIG. 3, when it is desired to install the heat sink
device 10, the cooling fan 3 is mounted at the depression 12 of the
heat sink body 1, such that the air outlet of the cooling fan 3
faces the cooling fins 11. Then, the heat sink body 1 is fixedly
provided on the IC controllers 2, with the thermal conductive plate
4 adhered therebetween. At this time, the end of the copper rod
with the threads 61 is locked in the screw hole 13 of the heat sink
body 1, with the other end inserted into the through hole 51 of the
circuit board 5. And by using tin soldering to secure the copper
rod and the circuit board 5 together, the heat sink body can be
securely provided above the IC controllers, thus accomplishing
installation of the heat sink device 1. Therefore, the heat
generated by the IC controllers 2 will be conducted via the thermal
conductive plate 4 to the cooling fins 11 of the heat sink body 1.
At the same time, the cooling fan 3 will induce air and discharges
it via the air outlet towards the cooling fins 11 to cause the hot
air to be discharged from the cooling fins 11, thus achieving the
object of heat dissipation.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, which show the second preferred
embodiment of the present invention, an upper cover 7 may be
provided above the heat sink body 1. The upper cover 7 is provided
with an opening 71 at a position corresponding to the cooling fan
3. The periphery of the upper cover 7 is further provided with
locking holes 72. As for the heat sink body 1, it is provided with
an insert groove 14 at the top end of front and rear sides thereof,
respectively. When the upper cover 7 is placed on top of the heat
sink body 1, the two sides of the upper cover 7 can insert into the
insert grooves 14 of the heat sink body 1 so that the upper cover 7
can be insertably arranged on the upper side of the heat sink body
1. Then, locking elements 73, such as bolts, are passed through the
locking holes 72 into the securing holes 31 of the cooling fan 3,
whereby the upper cover 7 and the cooling fan 3 can be both secured
on the heat sink body 1.
In summary, the cooling fan 3 according to the present invention
can be disposed directly on the upper side of the heat sink body 1
to thereby enhance heat dissipation efficiency. Besides, as the
cooling fan 3 is at the same height as the cooling fins 11, the
height of the housing of the electronic product will not be
affected. In addition, only one cooling fan 3 is required to
achieve ideal heat dissipation effects, so that cost is
reduced.
Although the present invention has been illustrated and described
with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it should be
understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such
embodiment but is capable of numerous modifications within the
scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *